Changing my views on the post 1890's

[Galloway]

I'm starting to think other than the indian wars the 1890's to the 1910's were just as wild as the 1870's to 1890's. For years i've had the impression things were begining to slow down by then as law and order became more established, but as far as folks killing eachother for personal gain i think it was just as if not more wild than 20 years prior. Anyone else agree?

[St. George]

Of course they were.

All you need to do is look at the headlines of the era, and you'll still see a couple of gold rushes, cattle rustling, war, cattle drives, 'La Revolucion', and even Indian depredations along the Mexican Border by dwindling renegade bands.

The Great War pretty much brought an end to the last of the 'Old West' - bringing aircraft, machineguns and use of wheeled and rail transportation for military movement - and barbed wired had pretty well fenced off everything - but prior to that, little had changed.

Scouts Out!

[ChuckBurrows]

and it's still wild if not even wilder due to the cartels - just ask any LEO that works down there especially in the boot heel section of New Mexico.....

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[Shotgun Franklin]

Parts of South and West Texas still aren't well settled. When Texas seceded in 1861 one complaint was that the Federal Government had not secured the border, while Gov Perry is taking steps, the Feds are still dragging their feet.

[Tsalagidave]

While the hostile Indian and marauder attacks were a believable threat up until the end of the frontier era, the actual incidents were much less than Hollywood and modern Old West writers would want you to believe. The wild deeds simply took on another form and became more plentiful right up into modern times. For the most part, the American Western culture demonstrated that "an armed society is a polite society". The typical person lived out their lives without killing anyone in a peacefully anti-climactic hard working but agreeable life.  There is literally a small handful of actual bank robberies that occurred in the Wild West previous to the advent of the automobile versus 5014 nationwide in 2013 alone (source: FBI Crime statistics).  Actually, the first documented bank robbery that I could find occurred Feb. 13, 1866. In regards to murders, even the per capita numbers are much higher now than they were then. Of course there were exceptions such as Los Angeles during the 1850s sporting a homicide rate higher than any other place or time in American history but this was more the exception than the rule.

-Dave

[Doug.38PR]

I'm starting to think other than the indian wars the 1890's to the 1910's were just as wild as the 1870's to 1890's. For years i've had the impression things were begining to slow down by then as law and order became more established, but as far as folks killing eachother for personal gain i think it was just as if not more wild than 20 years prior. Anyone else agree?

It was probably more wild than before as the "progress" of the East encroached on it:

[Tsalagidave]

Thomas E Woods is a great teacher Doug. I've watched a few of his videos now and they are in perfect step with what I have researched.  Thank you for turning me on to him.

-Dave

[Galloway]

Anyone care to cite the 12 bank robberies from 1859-1900? That number seems too low?

[texaswoodworker]

The 1890s and early 1900s were still wilder than an acre of snakes.   

Cattle Annie and Little Britches - 1895

Legendary Oklahoma outlaw “Cattle Annie” and her sidekick, “Little Britches” (Jennie Stevenson Midkiff), were some of the first "lady" Outlaws as spies for the Notorious Doolin/Dalton Gang.
Both girls seemed to thrive being on the wrong side of the law. Throughout 1895, they made headlines across Oklahoma. The couple sold whiskey to Osage and Pawnee Indians and also stole horses. They worked together, alone or sometimes with others.
The cagey duo confused the law by working by day and committing their deeds at night. Once a posse met Cattle Annie on the trail and asked if she had seen any strange men about .As soon as she was able she immediately sent a message to the Doolin Gang informing them of their presence in the area. The gang disappeared.
In August 1895, Jennie was arrested. The Sheriff, Frank Lake, took her under guard to a restaurant in Pawnee for supper. But when Jennie finished her meal, she jumped out the back door, stole a horse and vanished into the night. The newspapers had a field day as Jennie had escaped on a deputy's horse.
The following night, the girls were tracked down near Pawnee by Marshals. Both girls gave fight, and several shots rang out, as the girls made their way to a back window to escape. Cattle Annie was caught by Burke, as she climbed out the window but Little Britches escaped, temporarily. The lawmen gave chase amidst several shots fired over her shoulder at them, but her shots missed. Finally Tilghman shot her horse, which ended the chase. Although fighting like a cornered wildcat, Jennie was finally subdued and both girls were jailed.
“Cattle Annie” lived out her life as a quiet, respectable bookkeeper. She was an active member of the American Legion Auxiliary and the Olivet Baptist Church, she died November 7, 1978, and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Oklahoma City.

http://smokymountainsvalleyvoice.com/cattle-annie-little-britches-p173-126.htm

Little Bill Raidler - 1895

William F. "Little Bill" Raidler (18??-1904) - An educated man from Pennsylvania, Bill Raidler drifted into Texas, where he became a cowboy. Soon, he moved on to Oklahoma, where he met Bill Doolin and the next thing you know, he was riding with the Doolin Gang. Along with robbing banks and trains, Raidler was involved in a number of gunfights, the most well-known of which was when the Doolin Gang was jumped by a posse near Dover, Oklahoma in on April 4, 1895. After some two hundred shots were exchanged, Raidler and three other members galloped away to safety, leaving behind "Tulsa Jack” Blake who had been killed by U.S. Deputy Marshal William Banks. It would be the beginning of a violent end to Bill Doolin's gang, as the rest of the gang would soon be killed or captured as well.

A few months later, on September 6th, Raidler was tracked down by Bill Tilghman and two other law enforcement officers. When Raidler fought back by firing his rifle, the lawmen returned shots and Raidler was hit in the wrist by a rifle slug. Dropping his gun and running, he was hit again, in the back and the neck, but survived. He stood trial for his part in a train robbery in Dover, Oklahoma and was sentenced to ten years in prison. He was released in 1903 but died just a year later.

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-outlawlist-r.html

Bill Doolin - 1896

William M. "Bill” Doolin, aka: Will Barry (1858-1896) - The son of an Arkansas farmer, Doolin was born in Johnson County, Arkansas in 1858. At the age of 23, he drifted west, working at odd jobs until he landed a job as a cowboy at the H-X Bar Ranch in Indian Territory in 1881. Also working at the ranch were the Dalton Brothers, who Doolin soon hooked up with, participating in several train and bank robberies. However, he was not present at the Coffeyville, Kansas raid, which spared his life, at least for a little while. Founding the Oklahombres in 1893, which specialized in robbing banks, stagecoaches and trains in Arkansas, Kansas, the gang became the terror of the Wild West. Doolin's "Oklahombres" Bill Dalton, Charley Pierce Red Buck, George Weightman, Little Bill Raidler, Bob Grounds, Tulsa Jack Blake, Little Dick West, Dan "Dynamite Dick" Clifton, Roy Daugherty, alias "Arkansas Tom" Jones, George "Bitter Creek" Newcomb, Alf Sohn, and Ol Yantis.  For whatever reasons, Doolin held something of a "Robin Hood” image and was well liked by many people, who helped them in evading the law. The robberies and killings continued until until Doolin was captured in a Eureka Springs bathhouse by U.S. Deputy Marshal Bill Tilghman in January, 1896. Later, however, Doolin escaped federal custody and eluded apprehension for several months until a posse led by Heck Thomas tracked him down near Lawson, Oklahoma Territory on August 25, 1896. When Thomas demanded he surrender, he pulled his six-gun and fired twice before a blast from a shot gun fired by Bill Dunn and rifle bullets fired by Thomas cut him to pieces.

Three Fingered Jack - 1900

Jack Dunlap (or Dunlop), aka: Three Fingered Jack (18??- 1900) - In the 1890's, Dunlap was robbing banks and trains in Arizona before being arrested. Following his release in 1895, he joined "Black Jack" Christian's Gang, and later the Alvord-Stiles Gang, again holding up trains. On February 15, 1900, several membres of the Alvord-Stiles Gang, including Jack Dunlap, Burt Alvord, Bill Stiles, George and Louis Owens, Bravo Juan Yoas, and Bob Brown attempted to rob the Wells Fargo Express car at the Southern Pacific railroad depot in Fairbank, Arizona. However, what they didn't know was that Jeff Milton, a former Texas Ranger, was working as the express messenger that night. In the inevitable gunplay that occurred, Milton was clipped in the arm, outlaw Bravo Juan Yaos was shot, and Dunlap lay dead. The rest of the gang made their escape without ever opening the safe.

Rufus Buck and the Buck Gang - 1896

Rufus Buck (18??-1896) – A Creek Indian who had served time for minor offences in the Fort Smith, Arkansas jail, Buck decided to make a name for himself in the summer of 1895. Forming the Buck Gang, he and four other men began to stockpile weapons before going on a ten day murder and robbery spree in Indian Territory. Buck bragged to anyone who would listen that "his outfit would make a record that would sweep all the other gangs of the territory into insignificance.” Beginning on July 30, 1895, the outlaws killed U.S. Deputy Marshal Garrett when he tried to stop them from a store robbery in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. They then went on to rob a number of settlers in the next ten days, killing two more men, and raping two women. All five members were hanged at Fort Smith on July 1, 1896.

Della Rose - 1901

Laura Bullion, aka: Della Rose, Rose of the Wild Bunch (1876?-19??) - Born in Knickerbocker, Texas around 1876 to a German mother and a Native American father, she met outlaws William Carver and Ben "The Tall Texan" Kilpatrick when she was just a teenager. Knickerbocker was a haven of outlaws and Laura's own father was a bank robber, so it came as no surprise when the young girl followed a life of crime. When she was just 15 years-old she began a romance with Will Carver, who had been married to her aunt until she had recently died. Carver often worked with Black Jack Ketchum robbing trains before he moved on to Utah and hooked up with Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, where Laura ultimately ended up too. Somewhere along the line, Laura transferred her affections to Ben Kilpatrick , who cast his lot with the Wild Bunch in 1898. Laurie Bullion often helped the gang by fencing goods and money for them and was known to the group as Della Rose and often called the "Rose of the Wild Bunch."

 
Having taken part in several train robberies with the Wild Bunch, Kilpatrick and Bullion returned to Texas with William Carver, where Carver was ambushed and killed by lawmen on April 1, 1901. Bullion and Kilpatrick then fled to to St. Louis, Missouri, where they were arrested on November 8, 1901. Kilpatrick was found guilty of robbery and sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Laura was sentenced to five. 


After serving 3 1/2 years, Laura was released from the Missouri State Penitentiary at Jefferson City, Missouri, on September 19, 1905 and lived the last years of her life in Memphis, Tennessee, under the name of Freda Lincoln, making her way as a seamstress and a dressmaker. She passed away on December 2, 1961 and is buried in Memphis under a tombstone that reads, "Freda Bullion Lincoln—Laura Bullion—The Thorny Rose." She never saw her lover Ben Kilpatrick again. Kilpatrick, on the other hand, was released from prison in June, 1911 and immediately returned to a life of crime. While trying to rob a Southern Pacific express near Sanderson, Texas, on March 13, March, 1912, he was killed with an ice mallet.

Eugene Bunch - 1892

Eugene Bunch, aka: Captain J. F. Gerard (18??-1892) - Born in Mississippi, Bunch was well educated and grew up to become a teacher in Louisiana before moving on to Gainesville, Texas where he edited a local newspaper. However, for reasons unknown, he turned to train robbery. Along with a few other bandits, the group robbed trains in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi from 1888 to 1892. Upon arriving on the train, Bunch always spoke softly to the express car messengers, telling them that if they did not open their safes, he would "blow their brains out." Before robbing the train's passengers, he always politely introduced himself as Captain J. F. Gerard to train passengers, tipped his hat to the ladies and didn't take their handbags. Though he was just as gentlemanly to the men, he did, however; take their wallets. For the four years Bunch operated, he robbed six trains, making off with an more than $30,000. But for Bunch, like many others, it wasn't to last. After making his largest robbery in 1892, taking some $20,000 from a train near New Orleans, he was heavily pursued by Pinkerton agents. Before long, they tracked him to a swamp near Franklin, Louisiana and on August 21, 1892, shot and killed him and his cohorts.

Ned Huddleston - 1900

Isom Dart aka: Ned Huddleston (1849-1900) - Born into slavery in Arkansas in 1849 Ned helped Confederate soldiers steal food and goods during the Civil War. After he was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, he drifted into Texas and Mexico, working as a rodeo clown. However, he soon turned to cattle rustling in Mexico, moving the herds across the boundary and selling them in Texas. Though he tried to go straight many times in his life, he never quite succeeded, always returning to rustling. Over the years he also worked as a prospector, broke broncos and rode with the Gault Gang. In 1875 he moved to northwest Colorado where he was involved in gambling and and a number of fights. However, he tried to go straight again when he bought a ranch near Brown's Hole and changed his name to Isom Dart. In 1899, during the Brown’s Park range war between the Two-Bar Ranch Cattle Company and area ranchers, he took up with Ann Bassett, a ranch owner and cattle rustler herself. Soon the Two-Bar Ranch brought in Range Detective Tom Horn to suppress the cattle rustling and threaten the smaller ranches. In July, Dart received a note specifying that he and certain ranchers must leave the area. However, Dart chose to ignore the demand and on the morning of October 3rd, Tom Horn shot him dead.

Arkansas Tom Jones - 1924

Roy Daugherty, aka: Arkansas Tom Jones (1870-1924) - Raised in a highly religious family in Missouri, his two brothers became preachers, but Roy rebelled against the atmosphere and fled from home when he was only 14 years-old. Making his way to Oklahoma , he called himself "Arkansas Tom Jones," claiming to be from there. He first took a job as a cowboy but soon joined Bill Doolin's gang and was captured after the shootout at Ingalls, Oklahoma on September 1, 1893.

 

Convicted of manslaughter, he was sentenced to a fifty-year prison term. Due to the efforts of this ministering brothers, he obtained a parole in 1910. He then ran a restaurant in Drumright, Oklahoma, for two years, but bored with that he drifted to Hollywood, hoping to act in Westerns. That not panning out, he returned to robbery and helped in robbing a bank in Neosho in 1917. Again, he was caught and imprisoned but released in 1921. Evidently, this man could just not be rehabilitated because he was robbed a bank once more in Ashbury, Missouri the same year he was released. He remained a wanted man for three years, but was tracked to Joplin, Missouri on August 16, 1924 and killed in a gunfight while resisting arrest.

Bob Hays - 1896

Bob Hays (18??-1896) - Outlaw member of the Black Jack Christian Gang, Hays and other members of the gang attempted to rob the International Bank of Nogales, Arizona on August 6, 1896. However, while he and fellow gang member, Jess Williams, were inside the bank, newspaperman Frank King, accosted other gang members who were keeping watch outside. When a gunfight erupted, Hays and Williams fled empty handed. Two of the gang members were wounded, but all were able to escape. A posse was soon on their tail and finally pursued them to their hideout in the San Simon Valley. As eight posse men approached the gang, gunfire erupted and Hays was killed by lawman Fred Higgins. Black Jack Christian and two other outlaws escaped.

The Handsome Bandit - 1910

Marion Hedgepeth (1856-1910) - Known as the "Handsome Bandit," the "Debonair Bandit," and the "Montana Bandit," Hedgepeth, was born in Prairie Home, Missouri on April 14, 1856. Running away from home at the age of 15, he was an outlaw by the time he was 20, having killed in Colorado and Wyoming, as well as robbing trains. On October 7, 1890 he robbed a train in Glendale, Missouri escaping with some $10,000. After being relentlessly pursued by the Pinkertons, he was finally arrested in San Francisco, California and brought back to Missouri for trial. Convicted, he was sentenced to twenty-five years in the Missouri State Prison. After his release he was shot and killed by a Chicago Policeman on December 31, 1910.

There are quite a few more.

[rjb1]

Here were some of the post-1890 criminal activities of Butch Cassidy and friends (from wikipedia):
On August 13, 1896, Cassidy, Lay, Harvey Logan and Bob Meeks[7] robbed the bank at Montpelier, Idaho, escaping with approximately $7,000. Shortly thereafter he recruited Harry Longabaugh, alias "The Sundance Kid", a native of Pennsylvania, into the Wild Bunch.

In early 1897, Cassidy was joined at Robbers Roost by his off and on girlfriend Ann Bassett, Elzy Lay, and Lay's girlfriend Maude Davis. The four hid out there until early April, when Lay and Cassidy sent the women home so that they could plan their next robbery. On April 21, 1897, in the mining town of Castle Gate, Utah, Cassidy and Lay ambushed a small group of men carrying the payroll of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company from the railroad station to their office, stealing a sack containing $7,000 in gold, with which they again fled to the Robbers Roost.

On June 2, 1899, the gang robbed a Union Pacific Overland Flyer near Wilcox, Wyoming, a robbery that became famous and which resulted in a massive man hunt.[8][9] Many notable lawmen of the day took part in the hunt for the robbers, but they were not found.

During one shootout with lawmen following that robbery, both Kid Curry and George Curry shot and killed Sheriff Joe Hazen. Noted killer for hire and contract employee of the Pinkerton Agency, Tom Horn, obtained information from explosives expert Bill Speck that revealed that they had shot Hazen, which Horn passed on to Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo. The gang escaped into the Hole-In-The-Wall. Siringo was assigned the task of capturing the outlaw gang. He became friends with Elfie Landusky, who was by then going by the last name Curry alleging that Lonny Curry, Kid Curry's brother, had gotten her pregnant. Through her, Siringo intended to locate the gang.

On July 11, 1899, Lay and others were involved in a Colorado and Southern Railroad train robbery near Folsom, New Mexico, which Cassidy may have planned and may have been directly involved in, which led to a shootout with local law enforcers in which Lay, arguably Cassidy's best friend and closest confidante, killed Sheriff Edward Farr and posseman Henry Love, leading to his imprisonment for life in the New Mexico State Penitentiary.

Also, the Dalton Gang's Coffeyville KS bank-robbery/fiasco was in late 1892.

[Don Nix]

Nothing in this world has changed except electricity. In my lifetime of law enforcement, Ive caught cattle and horse ruslers, Cahsed two bank robbers on horseback through the sulfar river bottoms( they held up the Bloomberg Tx. bank using a cap and ball .44colt)
Seen gunfights and knife fights kidnappings and family fueds that led to killings. People dont change,we just live more comfortably now.

[Shotgun Franklin]

The only real difference was the end of the Frontier. A place pretty much beyond Law & Order. A place where a Bad Man could go hideout without a lot of chance that he would be hunted. Even 'Native' crimes had fallen into the hands of Law Enforcement rather than the Army or Ranging Companies. Law Enforcement jurisdictions now over lapped and you could call the next county by phone and when the Bad Man came into that area, the Law was waiting. It wasn't that people got better, it was that there was no place to hide anymore.

[Don Nix]

exactly

[Trailrider]

Oh, ho! Elfie Landusky! I wonder if she was Pike Landusky's sister...or wife.  You see, Pike Landusky, founder of Landusky, Montana, and a coal miner from Pennsylvania,  got into a fight with Harvey Logan, alias Kid Curry, and Pike beat Logan so badly it put him in the hospital for awhile.  When Logan got out of the hospital, he was having a drink in Jake Harris' saloon, when Pike came in and pulled either a Lugar or a Broomhandle Mauser pistol, intending to kill Logan. But the gun misfired or failed to fire. Whereupon Logan pulled a Colt's Single Action and shot Landusky dead!